Literature Review
Discuss About The Organizational Competitiveness In Hotel Industry.
It is helpful to understand about an industry particularly in the hospitality sector by means of the interviews which are conducted with the managers of the company. The managers’ response to the questions help people get an idea about what challenges they are going to face, the lessons which they have learnt, the way in which they have contributed to the success of the society. There are several positive factors which need to be kept in mind with respect to the hotel industry and the role of a manager in the particular industry. It needs to be understood that the manager has the power to positively influence the industry in which he or she is working in case the factors contributing to the all round betterment of the industry are to kept under consideration.
This particular report shows the questions which have been asked to the manager of the chosen hotel and also aims to analyse how such a hotel can be improved and what has been the journey so far. The appendix section comprises of the questions which have been asked to the manager of the hotel which helps in the analysis of the operations of the hotel.
A hotel is basically an establishment which is responsible for providing accommodation, food and drinks to the travellers as well as temporary residents which also includes the drinks for travellers and temporary residents. A hotel may be defined as “an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging facilities for the general public as well as for food and beverage services, room attendant service, uniformed service, laundering of linen as well as the use of furniture and fixtures.”. A hotel is basically a building which is established for staying and also for commercial purposes in which the rooms and meals provided for the travellers and public society and it is also completed by one or more of services which include food beverage as well as entertainment. There are several factors which contribute to the success of the hospitality industry.
The human resources management and the organisational performance of the hospitality industry is a crucial aspect which needs to be considered at all costs. The hotels need to ideally focus on the best of HRM practices, carer planning, use of flexible job descriptions, provision of autonomy to the employees, cross cultural job design, provision of the need based training, the utilization of attitude surveys for the purpose of assessment of the employees, forms of social appreciation and recognition of proper employee performance, informing staff properly and the resulting performance of the organisation (Goyal, Rahman & Kazmi, 2013).
Firm Background
It has also been seen that the performance of a hotel is positively associated with the category and the type of the hotel and in case they are to perform better, it is desirable that they improve the category of the service which they are providing to their hotel. It has been stated by a famous hotel executive that, “At present, housekeeping is not more of a back of the house department, most of the reputed hotel chains have chosen to raise their housekeepers as frontrunners and encourage them to interact with guests. With the advancements in technology and modernisation, the face of housekeeping has changed as per the latest trends in the hotel industry.”
The hotels also should focus on the importance of team working of the members in the hotel so that they can perform well and as a proper team so that the best workers are there to take care of the people in the particular situations which might arise in the hotel.
The human resource department and the employee planning in the hotel is important to ensure that the right kinds of the people are there to take care of the responsibilities at the right moment and also at the right place. The team as well as individual effectiveness of the people need to be visible in the operations of the hotel and contribute towards making the hotel a proper and go-to place for all types of guests (Elsey & Southward, 2018).
It is desirable that hotels and the hospitality industry as a whole focuses on the strategic integration, high commitment high quality, flexibility and also the pursuit of competitive advantage. The hotels need to make sure that the services which they provide to the guests are the best in quality and they are responsible for positioning the hotel as one of the best in the market.
The hotels and their innovative capabilities rest in the organising principles and the socio-economic relationships which exist between the individuals. There needs to be the focus on the HR strategies and also the identification and the promotion of a creative environment as a key to the innovation and the innovation needs a strategic HRM as a strategic culture. In case the employees of the hotel are satisfied, they can work towards helping the hotel reach a level of global dominance.
The hotel which has been chosen in this particular project is the Park Hyatt Sydney, which is located in the New South Wales, Australia. The hotel is seated majestically on the world’s most beautiful harbours. The Park Hyatt Sydney completely helps in the personification of contemporary luxury by the side of the harbour. The location of the hotel is considered to be majestic and huge, there are intimate surroundings which the architecture and design, help in the reflection of Australian landscape. The highlights are several specious guestrooms and suites with contemporary interiors and floor to ceilings which open to private balconies (Elsey & Southward, 2018).
Interview
The person to be interviewed in this particular process is Mr. Mark Von Arnim. He took over the Park Hyatt Sydney Hotel and was responsible for leading to the dramatic transformation in the year 2012. It has been stated that Mr. Mark has been responsible for huge transformation of the hotel and is also responsible for the maintenance of standards which are responsible for the positioning of the hotel as one of the most premier hotels in Sydney.
The interview has been conducted with the help of an interview questionnaire. The nature of the questionnaire is open ended with specific interview questions. These questions range on a variety of topics including the development of the hotel, the challenges of the position of manager, the situations which have been the most challenging in the situations at the workplace. In different cases the responses of the manager are crucial in understanding the importance of his position and also the different situations that arise and those which he has to face in different scenarios. The interview questions help in the understanding the challenges which the manager faces, the problems which need to be looked into and solved, the lessons which can be learnt from the situations faced by the managers and so on.
There are several challenges which the managers of the hotel have to face. The managers need to face a variety of tasks from marketing, managing the business as well as encouraging more and more bookings and also the balancing of revenue and expenses. The managers also must have the traits of a proper leader. They need to be friendly and approachable, they have excellent communication skills, managing their time in a proper manner and much more. The changing times are bound to imply the changing demands, At present the managers face different sorts of challenges and issues in comparison to the times in the past due to the newer and better technological developments and the behaviour of the customers. Unless the managers of today keep up with the challenges which they are facing they cannot help their companies reach a stage of global success and dominance (De Grosbois, 2012).
With the development of technology and the services which offer on the spot services, the consumers are starting to expect the same level of convenience, personalization and efficiency in every place they go and in every type of facility which they want. Therefore it is necessary for top hotels even to upgrade the necessary software and other technologies to keep up with the demands of their guests and others who might need to hire the IT consultants or tech savvy staff to help with the implementation and training. It is desirable for the hotels to keep up with their guests and it is even harder than it was previously (Theodosiou & Katsikea, 2012).
Understanding the issues in the industry
There often are requirements for long and irregular working hours which is not uncommon in the hospitality industry. Due to the present demands as well as the nature of the hotel business, the dutiful and responsible individuals need to be accessible all round the clock. Even in case the duties are divided among different people the manager’s working hours are often very long and irregular. It is desirable that the managers properly manage burnout as well as stress in order to be successful in their roles and responsibilities in the long run.
Maintenance and renovations of the executive expectations are also shifting extremely fast. It is necessary for the manager to ensure that the amenities which are being provided are up-to-date and also comply with the standards of the guests. The ongoing construction, renovations, maintenance and the technology costs can add up fast and the balancing of the books are even more challenging. Booking and pricing also need to be kept under consideration at the time there is the need to maintain a consistency in the price levels (Nieves, Quintana & Osorio, 2014).
One of the most important challenges which a manger has to face in the hotel industry is the challenge of leadership. This means the crucial responsibility of leading the team and fulfilling the customer needs as well (Ali & Amin, 2014).
It has been clearly understood from the interview that a person who is the manager of a hotel like the Park Hyatt, Sydney, cannot differentiate themselves from any other associate within the particular hotel. It has also been understood from the interview that in order to be a general manager the person needs to ensure that every one in their team contributes towards success and they need to imbibe values in such a way that every person understands that any one position is in no way important than the other.
Hiring the right people for different roles is also a crucial aspect for the manager of a particular hotel. This is because every member is a part of the whole team which is basically like a family. The loyalty towards the brand and also the passion for the services provided helps in the success of the company.
It has also been understood from the manager’s interview that they should not disappoint under any circumstances. There are several requests which the managers need to deal with which can include uninterrupted guest experience, wedding proposals and similar ones. The hotel has always tried its level best to cater to the services of the customers and this has contributed to its success.
As a manager the best part of the job is the appreciation, the trust and the compliments which state that the hotel has been able to exceed all expectations. The happiness of the customers and the motivation of the team members which is visible in their smiles and confidence is another biggest gift. This does not mean that there are not any difficulties of the job. There are several compromises which a manager has to make every day and the sad part is the inability to meet the expectations of the team members or associates or customers. The main aim is not to take it personally.
The job of a manager specifically in a hotel like the Park Hyatt Sydney, is extremely challenging and full of responsibilities. It is necessary for a manager to be calm, have a proper understanding of the responsibilities he or she needs to fulfil and the different avenues which he or she needs to balance in order to emerge successful.
Before being appointed as the General Manger of the Park Hyatt Sydney, Mark Von Arnim, an Australian national had experience of working in several places. The career of Von with Hyatt spans a time frame of 22 years. He had first joined the Hyatt Regency Coolum in the year 1992 and since then has held positions in places like Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, before becoming the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency Auckland, in 2008.
The nature of the hospitality industry is extremely diverse and difficult to handle. The concept of hospitality and the services which are being offered in a particular hotel have the most important property of intangibility. The success and the acceptability of a particular hotel and its services is also limited and the life span in these cases is not much. Therefore it is up to the hotel and the manager to ensure that the services which they provide leave a mark in the minds of the people so that they come back to the hotel again and again. The Park Hyatt Sydney competes with some of the most famous names in the hotel industry and this is because of its successful service provisions and customer care (Pereira-Moliner et al., 2012).
Conclusion
It is desirable that the managers inculcate certain qualities among their team members and also within themselves in order to emerge as successful and capable leaders. The mangers of any organisation, big or small, need to understand that building trust requires a certain amount of time. In case there are situations where there is not an adequate amount of trust, it is the duty of the manager to ensure that there is a proper focus on the building of trust. It is the duty of the manager to ensure that each member of the team has trust on the other team members. The leader in certain cases might have to take up the responsibility for building of trust or they might also need to change the team in order to achieve the necessary level of trust for the success of the team.
The manager also needs to focus on the achievement of collective results in order to make each plan of action for their organisation a success. There needs to be a proper coordination between the members of the team to ensure that they understand their strengths and weaknesses as a whole to reach a state of achievement and dominance. The manager should encourage healthy debates at all times to ensure a proper connection among all members of the team. There needs to be a certain commitment within the teams who work under the manager to ensure that their goals are met and the managers can achieve their levels of success and dominance.
References
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Class, A. C. Park Hyatt Sydney to offer rooftop views.
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